Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the level of workplace skills of university students in the UK and other countries.
Answered by Anne Milton
The department provides data for the annual Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Education at a Glance Report, which provides international comparisons on the skills levels of university graduates. The report confirms that UK graduates have a strong employment rate in line with many other developed European countries. The report is publicly available.
Furthermore, the UK Employer Skills Survey 2015 found that the large majority (83%) of employers surveyed who had recruited a university leaver found their recruits to be well or very well prepared for the world of work. Overall, employers appear to be satisfied with recruits from UK universities, with only 5% of employers reporting a 'lack of required skills or competencies' and an overall lower incidence, compared to other educational leavers groups, of 'lack of skills or attitude' in general.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to establish a regulatory body for foster agencies.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Fostering is a devolved matter. All fostering agencies registered in England are subject to regulations relevant to the placement of children in foster care including the Fostering Services (England) Regulations (2011) and the Care Standards Act (2000). These regulations provide the legal framework for the conduct of fostering services and sit alongside the national minimum standards in fostering. Ofsted take this framework into account in the inspection of fostering services in England but has no remit in the devolved administrations.
The department believes that the current system is robust and have no plans to introduce a separate regulatory body at this time.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to reduce the time taken for autistic children to receive a statement of special educational needs.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
All local authorities in England are required to follow the guidance set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 years: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.
This requires them to meet a statutory deadline of 20 weeks for completion of an Education, Health and Care plan from the time that they receive a request for an assessment. This applies to all children and young people, including those on the autism spectrum.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Education in Northern Ireland on the financial situation of schools in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Education is a devolved matter, and there have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Education and the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Education in Northern Ireland on the financial situation of schools in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage large businesses to offer work placements to school leavers.
Answered by Anne Milton
The government’s careers strategy for England, which was published in December 2017, introduces a new expectation that secondary schools should follow the Gatsby Foundation’s Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance. This means that schools should offer every young person at least one encounter a year with employers from year 7 through to year 13.
The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is recruiting up to 150 employers as ‘cornerstone’ employers committed to increasing the number of encounters and workplace experiences offered. The CEC’s network of 125 Enterprise Coordinators and over 2000 Enterprise Advisers (who are business volunteers) is also helping to increase employer encounters and work experience. For example, in East Sussex, John O’Connor Ltd. has arranged multiple work experience placements for pupils at Saxon Mount Community Special School so that students can gain a practical understanding of grounds maintenance work.
Every 16 to 19 year old student following one of the new T levels in England will be entitled to a high quality industry placement. Industry placements are structured periods in employment that are expected to last a minimum of 45 days. We are putting in place measures to directly support employers such as providing a ‘one stop shop’ for guidance and support from the National Apprenticeship Service. This includes a simple referral platform so that employers only have one place to go to be put in touch with providers in their area. We are also investing significantly through the Capacity and Delivery Fund to help providers put in place the systems to organise placements so that the burden is taken off employers.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to require schools to provide advice on mental health to pupils.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools will be required to teach mental health as part of the Department’s plans to make health education compulsory. The Government is currently seeking views on the draft guidance and regulations, which will support the new subjects of relationships education in primary, relationships and sex education in secondary, and health education in all schools. The consultation includes questions on what support schools will need to deliver high-quality teaching. The consultation closed on the 7 November. https://consult.education.gov.uk/pshe/relationships-education-rse-health-education/.
The draft statutory guidance sets out core content that schools will teach. The draft mental health content includes teaching pupils how to recognise and talk about their emotions, how to judge when they or someone they know needs support and prevention, including the benefits of physical exercise.
Schools will decide what further advice to provide to their pupils. To support schools, the Government will fund the training of a Designated Senior Lead for mental health in every school, to put in place a whole school approach to mental health and well-being. This can cover activities as part of pastoral support and advice for individual pupils with specific needs.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) parents and (b) guardians of children who are high on the spectrum of autism who have accessed respite care in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department does not collect specific information on the numbers of parents/guardians who access respite care. However, The Children and Families Act (2014) provides a framework to ensure that children with autism are identified early and receive the support they need. A disabled child would fall under the category of a child in need and parents, guardians or professionals could make a referral to the local authority children’s services who are best placed to assess the needs and priorities of disabled children in their area.
Information regarding how much local authorities have planned to spend on their short breaks/respite provision through the authorities’ annual section 251 returns can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data.
Giving children and young people with autism the right start in life is hugely important in ensuring that they can have successful and rewarding lives. We want all children, no matter what their special educational need or disability, to be able to reach their full potential and receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. That is why we have put in place significant reforms, aimed at making the system less confrontational and promoting better involvement of parents and a real focus on outcomes and transition to adult life.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many child refugees are being schooled in the UK.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information requested is not held centrally.
Information on refugee status is not collected within the school census. All children in the UK aged between 5-15 are required to be in education, including refugee children.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many examining boards are using the (a) A* to E and (b) numeral grading system.
Answered by Nick Gibb
There are four exam boards that offer GCSEs and A levels in England and Wales: AQA, Pearson, OCR, and WJEC. In Northern Ireland, GCSEs and A levels are also offered by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).
Exam boards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland all use the A*-E grading scale for A level qualifications.
For GCSE qualifications, the grade scale varies across the three countries. In England, the four exam boards are all using the 9-1 grading scale for reformed GCSEs as they are rolled out. Most GCSEs in Wales and Northern Ireland use an A*-G grading scale. A full explanation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-a-level-differences-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland/statement-from-the-qualification-regulators-on-changes-to-gcses-as-and-a-levels#availability-of-reformed-gcse-as-and-a-levels-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to encourage school leavers to start up their own business ventures.
Answered by Anne Milton
The Business GCSE (first taught from 2017) should help pupils to become commercially minded and enterprising. Financial literacy is statutory within the national curriculum as part of Citizenship for 11 to 16 year olds. Schools are also free to cover enterprise education within personal, social, health and economic education. Personal characteristics like resilience and problem-solving are crucial for setting up a business. Good schools offer a range of opportunities for pupils to develop these attributes through activities such as debating, sport, volunteering, the National Citizen Service or the Cadets.
The government’s careers strategy for England, published in December 2017, aims to give young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to learn from employers about work and entrepreneurship. It introduces a new expectation that every school should offer every young person at least seven encounters with employers, including those who are self-employed. Multiple encounters will inspire young people and give them the opportunity to learn about what work is like and what skills are important to successfully run a business and succeed in work.
The Careers & Enterprise Company’s network of Enterprise Advisers of senior volunteers from business help schools and colleges to work with local businesses. Over 40 per cent of Enterprise Advisers come from businesses with less than 50 employees. Investment funding delivered by The Careers & Enterprise Company to support schools and colleges has already provided more than 540,000 employer encounters for young people in England. This funding scales up proven programmes with track records, for example Young Enterprise. A new £2.5 million employer encounters investment fund has been launched and activity in schools and colleges will start from January 2019.